TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (9) TMI 1746
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.....2013 declaring the total income at Rs. Nil after claiming earlier year's losses to the extent of current year income. The return of the assessee was selected for scrutiny and an assessment order was passed under Section 143(3) r.w.s. 144C(3)(a) of the Income-tax Act,1961 ('the Act') dated 31.01.2017, assessing total income at Rs. Nil. 3. Ld. AO issued a notice on 20.04.2021under unamended Section 148 of the Act for reopening the assessment for the year under consideration. In response to the said notice, the assessee challenged the reopening by filing its objections vide letter dated 09.06.2021 stating that mandatory procedure under the new Section 148A of the Income-tax Act was not followed and hence the Notice is bad in law. 4. Subsequently, the assessee was issued Notice under section 143(2) read with section 147 of the Act dated 11.12.2021 along with reasons for reopening. As per the reasons for reopening, the assessment was reopened to disallow the depreciation on goodwill amounting to Rs.2,37,83,195 on the ground that the amount pertaining to goodwill has been impaired in the books of account and therefore the depreciation cannot be allowed as the asset not in existenc....
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....the Ld. AO from National Faceless Assessment Centre passed a reassessment order under section 147 read with section 144B of the Act on 26.05.2023 disallowing depreciation on goodwill of Rs. 2,37,83,195/-. 8. The assessee being aggrieved by the abovementioned impugned reassessment order filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals). Before the Ld. CIT (A), the assessee challenged the impugned reassessment order on the validity of reassessment proceedings as well as on the merits of disallowance of depreciation on goodwill. On validity of reassessment proceedings, it was submitted by the assessee before the Ld. CIT (A) that the notice under Section 148 should have been issued by the Faceless Assessing Officer and not by the Jurisdiction Assessing Officer. It was also contended that reassessment cannot be initiated on the basis of information of preceding year i.e., AY 2012-13 (FY 2011-12) and not relating to any information for relevant assessment year i.e., AY 2013-14 and hence the reassessment proceedings are clearly in violation of Explanation 1 to Section 148 of the Act. 9. The CIT(A) vide its Order dated 5 June 2024 quashed the reassessment proceedings by....
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....g before us Shri Ajit Kumar Jain, Ld. AR supported the order passed by the Ld. CIT(A). It was submitted that notice under Section 148 was issued by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer - Soumya Anand, ACIT, 14(1)(1), Mumbai on 28 July 2022. Section 151A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 permitted Central Government to make a scheme for the purposes of assessment, reassessment or re-computation under Section 147 or issuance of Notice under Section 148 or conducting of enquiries or issuance of show-cause notice or passing of order under section 148A or sanction for issue of such notice under Section 151, so as to impart greater efficiency, transparency and accountability. In terms of the said section, the Central Government issued a notification, being Notification No. 18/2022 dated 29th March 2022, wherein a scheme, called 'e-Assessment of Income Escaping Assessment Scheme, 2022' was brought into force with effect from 29 March 2022. As per the scheme the issuance of Notice under Section 148 of the Act and the completion of the assessment under section 147 is to be done in a faceless manner. Accordingly, it was only the Faceless Assessing Officer from NFAC that could have issued a Notice ....
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.... Assessment Scheme, 2022' was brought into force with effect from 29 March 2022. As per the scheme the issuance of Notice under Section 148 of the Act and the completion of the assessment under section 147 has to be done in a faceless manner. Accordingly, it was only the Faceless Assessing Officer from NFAC that could have issued a notice under section 148 after 29 March 2022. The Jurisdictional Assessing Officer did not have jurisdiction to issue notice under Section 148 of the IT Act specifically on account of CBDT Notification No.18/2022 dated 29.03.2022. This view is upheld by Hon'ble Bombay High Court in its latest decision in the case of Hexaware Technologies Ltd vs. ACIT, Circle-15(1)(2), Mumbai [2024] in 162 taxmann.com 225. The relevant finding of the Hon'ble Court is reproduced hereunder: 1. "Further, in our view, there is no question of concurrent jurisdiction of the JAO and the FAO for issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act or even for passing assessment or reassessment order. When specific jurisdiction has been assigned to either the JAO or the FAO in the Scheme dated 29th March, 2022, then it is to the exclusion of the other. To take any other view i....
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....uld be thus difficult to accept a proposition when in paragraph 3(a) of the Scheme defining the scope of the Scheme when the words "assessment", "reassessment" or "re-computation" under Section 147 of the Act are explicitly provided, and further when clause (b) in paragraph 3 of the Scheme provides for issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act, it would not take within its ambit the provisions of Section 148A which are the initial steps, which in a given case are required to be taken in issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act. Section 148A provides for "Conducting inquiry, providing opportunity before issue of notice under section 148". Thus, this provision postulates a procedure inextricably linked to Section 148 which would apply to all cases of reassessment with a proviso stipulating exceptions to the rule. In other words, Section 148A in its object, intent and purpose is inextricably connected with the assessment, re-assessment or recomputation, for which a notice under Section 148 may be issued. Any other view would mean that the requirement to adopt the faceless procedure under the Scheme is a mere ministerial requirement for issuance of the notice. Such a readi....
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.... the six years limitation period under the Act (as extended by Section 3 of TOLA) expired by 31st March 2021. However, even on the Revenue's demurrer and assuming that such reopening notices could travel back in time and that the provisions of TOLA protected such reopening notices (we do not agree), even then, in so far as the notices issued for AY 2013-14 is concerned, would in any case be barred by limitation. As stated earlier, under the erstwhile Section 149, a notice under section 148 could have been issued within a period of six years from the end of the relevant assessment year. The Notifications issued under TOLA, viz., Notification No. 20/2021, which is relied upon by the Revenue, only cover those cases where 31st March, 2021 was the end date of the period during which the time limit, specified in, or prescribed or notified under the Income-tax Act falls for completion. The limitation under the Income-tax Act, 1961 (erstwhile Section 149) for reopening the assessment for the AY 2013-14 expired on 31st March 2020. Hence, Notification No. 20/2021 did not apply to the facts of the present case, viz., reopening notice for the AY 2013-14. Therefore, the Revenue could not is....